The Ireland Under-20s are hoping to hand England their first home defeat at this level since 2010 when the sides meet in round 3 of the U-20 RBS 6 Nations in Newcastle tonight.
2016 UNDER-20 RBS 6 NATIONS CHAMPIONSHIP: Friday, February 26
ENGLAND UNDER-20s (3rd) v IRELAND UNDER-20s (5th), Kingston Park, 6.05pm (live Sky Sports 3 HD)
Team News: Ireland Under-20 head coach Nigel Carolan has made five personnel changes and one positional switch to the team that started against France two weeks ago.
In the backs, there is a change at half-back where Sligo and Connacht scrum half Stephen Kerins makes his first Under-20 RBS 6 Nations start, having been used as a replacement in the opening two games.
Jack Power has also recovered from injury and comes back into the side at full-back, with Hugo Keenan shifting back to the right wing and Matthew Byrne moving to the replacements
Up front, Sligo prop Conan O’Donnell returns to the starting line-up in place of Conor Kenny who misses the round 3 tie through injury. His place in the squad is taken by Young Munster’s Ben Betts, who will win his first Ireland U-20 cap should he be called upon from the bench.
In the back row, UCD’s Greg Jones is set to make his U-20 international debut on Friday as he replaces the injured Max Deegan at number 8, while Will Connors has also recovered from injury to feature at openside flanker.
Speaking ahead of the Sky Sports 3-televised clash, Carolan said: “We were disappointed with the result in France last time out. We started the game well, but we let things slip away from us before half-time and never managed to recover.
“Looking towards England on Friday, we are expecting a tough encounter in Newcastle. The English side made up for their opening loss to Scotland with a convincing win against Italy, so we are prepared for them to be coming into this game full of confidence.”
Meanwhile, England U-20 boss Jon Callard has made two changes to his squad following their recent 42-7 victory away to Italy in Venice.
Archie White from Harlequins starts at blindside flanker, while Sale Sharks’ Jake Pope comes onto the bench in the place of the injured Ralph Adams-Hale.
Callard said: “Against Italy we put some nice patterns of play together, our game understanding was stronger and our game management was better. That improvement came about from having more time together and having the experience of a good hit-out against Scotland.
“We always said we would need that first game against Scotland to really know where we were at and unfortunately we came up short that day but rectified it the following week in tough conditions.”
England U-20s v Ireland U-20s Ticket Details
U-20 RBS 6 Nations Fixtures/Results
ENGLAND U-20: Max Malins (Saracens); George Perkins (Saracens), Joe Marchant (Harlequins), Charlie Thacker (Leicester Tigers), Ollie Thorley (Gloucester); Mathew Protheroe (Gloucester), Max Green (Yorkshire Carnegie); Tom West (Wasps), Jack Singleton (Worcester Warriors), Will Stuart (Wasps), Huw Taylor (Worcester Warriors), George Nott (Sale Sharks), Archie White (Harlequins), Sam Smith (Worcester Warriors), Callum Chick (Newcastle Falcons) (capt).
Replacements: Curtis Langdon (London Irish), Jake Pope (Sale Sharks), Billy Keast (Exeter Chiefs), Stan South (Harlequins), Jack Willis (Wasps), Jamie Shillcock (Worcester Warriors), Joe Simmonds (Exeter Chiefs), Paolo Odogwu (Leicester Tigers).
IRELAND U-20: Jack Power (UCD/Leinster); Hugo Keenan (UCD/Leinster), Shane Daly (Cork Constitution/Munster), Jimmy O’Brien (UCD/Leinster), Conor O’Brien (Clontarf/Leinster); Johnny McPhillips (Queen’s University/Ulster), Stephen Kerins (Sligo/Connacht); Andrew Porter (UCD/Leinster), Adam McBurney (Ballymena/Ulster), Conan O’Donnell (Sligo/Connacht), Peter Claffey (Galwegians/Connacht), James Ryan (Lansdowne/Leinster) (capt), Cillian Gallagher (Sligo/Connacht), Will Connors (UCD/Leinster), Greg Jones (UCD/Leinster).
Replacements: Shane Fenton (Young Munster/Munster), James Bollard (Dublin University/Leinster), Ben Betts (Young Munster/Munster), Sean O’Connor (Cashel/Munster), Kelvin Brown (Shannon/Munster), John Poland (Cork Constitution/Munster), Brett Connon (Newcastle Falcons/Exiles), Matthew Byrne (Terenure College/Leinster).
Referee: Tual Trainini (France)
Assistant Referees: Arnaud Blondel, Christophe Malterre (both France)
Television Match Official: Philippe Bonhoure (France)
Match Odds (Paddy Power): England U-20s to win: 1/5; Draw: 19/1; Ireland U-20s to win: 7/2
Pre-Match Quotes – Peter Claffey (Ireland U-20s): “It’s been a tough start for us, losing to Wales at home and losing to France in Narbonne. But we’ve done a lot of analysis over the last week off we’ve had and we’re looking at the positives we can take forward.
“We started quite well in both games and just failed to perform in the second half, and a lot of our mistakes are giving the opposition opportunities which they’ve been very clinical in punishing us for them.
“We’re looking forward to a massive game against England now, it’s a huge fixture. We trained with the seniors in Mullingar (last week), that was huge for us. We took a lot of positives out of that and it was a huge experience for us, with Joe Schmidt giving us some advice too.
“England are obviously going to have a typically big pack, really physical. Set piece and around the park. That’s a massive challenge for us and we can’t wait for it.”
Callum Chick (England U-20s): “Playing our home games around the country allows us to spread the message about the youngsters England have coming through the pathway. It is great to come to Newcastle. The squad are excited about the support and welcome they will receive at Kingston Park and we want to play a game that the spectators will enjoy.
“Obviously the first week (against Scotland) was disappointing. We didn’t get what we wanted, but I thought we showed a great deal of character in the second (in Italy).
“Ireland will be a tougher outfit. It’s our first home game and hopefully we’ll keep going upwards. It’s looking good, but we’ll have to get it right because they’ll come at us hard.”
Pre-Match Links –
Ireland Under-20s Beaten By Wales In Thrilling Seven-Try Clash
Ireland U-20s Floored By France’s Second Half Surge
Match Facts –
– The England Under-20s’ only defeat in their last half-a-dozen Six Nations encounters was to Scotland at Cumbernauld in round 1
– The England U-20s have not been defeated at home since going down 25-10 to Ireland at Kingsholm in 2010
– The Ireland U-20s have lost their five most recent Six Nations encounters since beating France 37-20 in Athlone in round 2 last year
– Ireland’s only away win since 2012 in the Under-20 Six Nations came on a trip to Italy in round 1 last season
– England have won their last three matches against Ireland at this level, including the semi-final of the World Rugby U-20 Championship in New Zealand in 2014
– Kingston Park hosts its second Under-20 international, in the previous game in 2014 England beat Wales 67-7
Recent Meetings –
2013: U-20 RBS 6 Nations: Ireland U-20s 16 England U-20s 15, Dubarry Park
2014: U-20 RBS 6 Nations: England U-20s 33 Ireland U-20s 9, Franklin’s Gardens; IRB Junior World Championship Semi-Final: England U-20s 42 Ireland U-20s 15, QBE Stadium, Auckland
2015: U-20 RBS 6 Nations: Ireland U-20s 14 England U-20s 19, Donnybrook
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